Man Took These Photos Just Prior to Fatal New Jersey Bear Attack

New Jersey police released these photos taken by the victim of the recent fatal New Jersey bear attack that show the 300-pound bear approaching him.

Darsh Patel, a 22 year old student at Rutgers University, was walking with four friends in the Apshawa Preserve last September when he was attacked and killed by a bear. Mr. Patel was the first person killed by a bear in New Jersey in over 150 years.

West Milford police just released six photos (including the one above) taken just prior to the attack. These photographs show the 300-pound bear about 100 feet from the group of hikers and getting closer in each shot.

They stopped and took photographs of the bear with their cellphones and the bear began walking towards them.

After taking the photographs, the hikers attempted to escape, but the bear followed them. When the bear was only 15 feet away, they split up and headed in different directions. When they regrouped later, they noticed Mr. Patel was missing and called the police.

When the police arrived, they quickly located Mr. Patel’s body and found the bear nearby. The police then shot and killed the bear with a shotgun. After conducting a necropsy of the bear’s carcass, they confirmed that it had consumed human tissue and bits of clothing.

The State of New Jersey currently has a bear hunting season in parts of five counties in the northern portion of the state, including Passiaic County, where the Apshawa Preserve is located, but bear permits are only issued to hunters through a lottery system.